Ambush Alley
by Tim Pritchard
Published by Ballantine
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Reviewed by Jeff Foster
Subtitled: The Most Extraordinary Battle of the Iraq War
In the early hours of March 23, 2003 the men of the 1st battalion 2nd U.S. Marines, part of Task Force Tarawa, moved north from Kuwait to a destiny that no one--from Battalion Commanders to the line grunts--ever anticipated.
The 1/2 was on the road to Nasiriyah, Iraq. They were young men, the vast majority untested in combat, They were confident in the briefings they had received and the intelligence they had acquired that their mission would be a success. It would all be over in a few hours; they would breeze through the city and clear the road for the follow-on units of the 1st Marine Division to pass through Nasiriyah and flank Baghdad from the southeast.
The primary mission: Secure two bridges. The first bridge, was south of the city over the Euphrates River. The second bridge was north and east of the city over a body of water known as the Saddam Canal. The obvious lifeline between the two objectives? A four-lane paved causeway dubbed "Ambush Alley" by soldiers of the 1/2 from their shipboard planning session's enroute to Iraq.
As with any battle plan it is only as good as the soldiers assigned to carry it out. The US Marines are some of the best-trained soldiers in the world, but as generals as far back as Alexander will tell, the best-laid plans are only good until the shooting starts.
The Marines' intelligence led them to anticipate that the Iraqi army units stationed in Nasiriyah would lay down their arms and fade into the populace. They also assumed they could maneuver around Ambush Alley and flank the bridge at the Saddam Canal from the east. Neither happened.
What resulted was twenty-four hours of mind-numbing combat. The Iraqi's fought back, tenaciously! Tanks became mired in mud; thin-skinned armored vehicles proved no match for an endless supply of RPGs and battalion communications faltered from the first minute.
Tim Pritchard has written a stunning blow-by-blow account of America's best in their toughest fight since Khe-San, telling how Marine Corps doggedness at its basic level won the day.
Armchair Interviews says: Ambush Alley is a blood and guts story of real heroes, a testament to our Armed Services.